Hi,
This is my first entry into my bodybuilding journal.
I'm not sure how to start this, so I will begin by defining some details about me in order to gauge my progress or to give others an idea of where im coming from.

My height is 5' 7", and my weight is 110 lb.

I also did some rough measurements about a month ago(I should remeasure everything soon):

5 sets of 10 reps of squats with 30 lb5 sets of 10 reps of single calf raises with 30 lb(5 sets per leg)alternating above excersizes between each set5 sets of 8 reps of bent over 1 arm rows with 30 lb(5 sets per arm, alternating arms between sets)

couple of cups of water after excersize.

will fill in rest of day as day progresses.

edit:
at 5:30pm I ate a couple vegetarian steaklets, a couple scoops of mashed potatos, a couple scoops of green peas, and some gravey with mushrooms.
edit:
also ate some more cereal around 11:00pm, i should find some alternates to cereal..

Last edited by Kon on Wed Nov 29, 2006 2:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I see you're obviously a very skinny person(my waist is just under 36 in comparison). You're probably not accustom to eating lots(unlike myself again) but eating a few more calories either in the form of one more meal or just a snack will really help fuel muscle growth.

I'm not even talking about protein shakes. Your dinner looks really solid. I see that you stay up pretty late so you could even have a 2nd dinner at around 10 o clock. Don't be too worried about calorie intake when you're lifting to gain muscle. Make sure you don't eat too much processed crap(which i see you keep to a good amount already) and you'll be fine.

Your routine looks good so far. I enjoy more of a powerlifting style to a bodybuilding one but as far as i can tell you have the general idea down.

Hope to see your other logs to see what other sort of lifts you do on different days.

Hey dude, what I'd suggest, apart from what Andrew said, is attempting to lift heavier weights. What you've said about your workouts is that you're doing the same weight for 5 sets. What I'd recommend is a warm up rep, and then increase the weight as you go, and see where you end up. It is hard to increase strength and size just using the same weight. But if you find it best to work like this, that's cool, so long as you raise the weight in some way. If you do 30lbs for an exercise this week, try raising it to 32 next week etc and see how you get on.

thanks for the replies..
yes, im pretty skinny, hence why i'd like to gain some muscle and not necessarly fat.
i will try to eat snacks. would an apple count as a snack?
I like eating nuts, i usually get some mixed nuts whenever i shop, but im out of nuts at the moment. I was going to walk over to the store today since it is my rest day, but it is raining, so it will have to wait until tomarrow. I was going to stock up on some fruit since i dont eat too much of it.
hm, i will try to raise the weight as i go, richard, and see how it goes.
jonathan, im male. Does it matter when i get sleep? because whenever i sleep i get enough since i wake up naturally without an alarm clock. I usually get 9-10 hours of sleep.

I'm wondering if i should post what i do on the days i dont work out.. I guess everyday counts..

todays I woke up around 12:45 pm, and i ate 4 slabs of weetabix with soymilk around 1:15pm

I'll fill in more as the day progresses.

EDIT:
at 5:30 pm I ate two vegetarian burgers on lettice with a slice of tomato, pickle slices, and a small bit of ketchup. no cheese or bread.
I also had a serving of canned beans and corn with a handful of baked frenchfries.

Even apples count as a snack in my book. I try and use nuts sparingly. Chips and other crap like that even less. I also try and use protein bars(clif builders or vega bars come to mind) sparingly and am now rationing them to 2-3 a week. (expensive for a college student)

Speaking of nuts i really have to go to my health foods store and get a big old bag of trail mix again. Maybe some goji berries.

I really do agree with what Jono says. I'm horrible about sleep on the weekends(even if i don't drink/party/go out) because usually i get 6 hours a night if i'm lucky on days i have class in the morning. I always feel sluggish. Possibly try out going to bed a few hours earlier and getting up earlier and see how you feel.

Less reps more weight will give you bulkier muscle. You can switch it up every other week if you want to have a more toned look.

Less reps more weight will give you bulkier muscle. You can switch it up every other week if you want to have a more toned look.

That's not quite true.
The growth stimulus for muscles comes from
- increased weight
- increased volume
You can grow within any rep range, as long as you keep adding weight, or grow with a certain weight for a while when you keep adding reps and sets.
The best for big muscles is to do high reps with high weight

High reps play an important role in bodybuilding and shouldn't be neglected. As a beginner, one should do at least 15 reps in every set.

I also wouldn't change the rep range every week, rather every month, because it's easier to track progress in comparison with last week if you only change either weights or reps, not both (unless both go up of course!).

As far as I am aware sleep is definately better at night time, as your body releases hormones to send you to sleep in the evening. 2am is about the time when you are in your deepest sleep. And at this time of year especially, you want to be maximising the amount of sunlight you see, as it will help you stay happier. Basically, sleep when it's dark, be awake when it's light!

With your bulking you are going to have to accept that you will gain some fat. It is almost impossible for most people to bulk in any other way. I really wouldn't worry about it though, as fat is easy enough to shift and you just want to concentrate on gaining muscle at the moment. We had an American guy come stay with us a couple of months ago. I think he was just under 5'7" and he weighed about 160lb and he looked great - not overly bulky (he is a dancer) but still in great shape.

The keys to your bulking being a success are:

* Train 4 times a week, and with a bit more volume (so more total lifting). Try a full body workout and repeat it each workout. You just want to be getting alot of practise lifting weights at this point, and be stimulating your body to grow.

* Eat alot! From what I can see on your diet plan you eat very little (though Weetabix is good!) and infrequently too. On this website I typed in your stats it it gave me a base metabolic rate of 2373 cal a day. Now to gain you want to slap 500 more on and work from there.

Eat 3 good meals a day (aim for 600-700 cal) and have three smaller meals inbetween. It needs only to be 75g of nuts, or a small bowl of porridge, or several pieces of fruit.

* I would recommend not sleeping past 10am, and for the exact reasons you should ask Daywalker (who is a doctor).

Also, in addition to what Jonathan said, your metabolism at it's height between 10 am - 2 pm, if you're getting any light exposure at all, so your body could basically be eating away at itself while you sleep, if you are sleeping that late.

i'd add weight but sometimes when i do, it would be impossible for me to lift.
maybe im adding too much..

hm, i will try to gradually alter my sleep time, although it is difficult because sometimes i need to stay up late in relation to some business stuff..

i don't mind gaining some weight as long as its good weight, whether its fat or muscle.
as for full body workouts, i'll have to search online for some since im not sure how they work.

i'll try to eat more often even if i dont feel like eating.. I got some fruit and nuts today, so i could snack on those i suppose.

jonathan, i do my exercises at home since i dont have any car to go anywhere

today i walked to the store and back, and it was cold out that was around 1pm.. and i got back at around 2pm which i then ate some weetabix with some soymilk and a banana.
after than i did some exercises:

I don't know if i'm weird but i trimmed out when I first started putting on lots of muscle. I already had fat on my body so my guess is my body utilized the fat i already had. If you're pretty skinny you will put on a little fat but you shouldn't worry about it. A little fat never hurt anybody.

I'm debating on if i should do a 4 o clock lift or a 6 o clock lift. I"m leaning towards the 4 o'clock.

ok, today I woke up around 12:30pm
at around 1:20pm ate some optimum power cereal, soymilk, and a few pieces of frozen fruit(i should have thawd them out)..
I then did 5 sets of 5 reps of lifting 30lb over my head and then back to the ground. i made up the exercise so i dunno what to call it.
after that, it was about 1:40, and so i went outside and shoveled the driveway because it had snowed alot.. I did this for about 40 minutes.
i was really tired after that..

will update this post as day progresses..

edit:
ate some speghetti with some tomatoe sauce at 5:30pm
had some handful of nuts later arund 10pm and 11pm

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